The violent protests in Cairo and in Benghazi were painted with an anti-American brush, and attributed to the vile anti- Islamic video produced in California. But could it be that the 9/11 anniversary – etched in our psyches – precipitated the violent demonstrations, spreading to twenty Arab cities. Political pundits – on the right and left surprisingly agree: Ross Douthat, an NYT columnist, negates the notion that the blasphemous video instigated the violent outbursts. Rather, he writes: “The unrest in the Islamic world is more about power politics than blasphemy.” Douthat nails the issue, I believe, when he attributes the violence to a duel between secularists and fundamentalists. This was evident in President Morsi’s anti-American actions in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and riots. Morsi first stabilized his support base so that the Salafists, a religiously more conservative faction, could not score a victory over him. The protests are provoked by internal power politics – even though the press coverage frequently focuses on the anti-American spirit of violent Arab demonstrations.

Before we go further, I would like to pay my respects to ambassador Christopher Stevens and his family for an unfathomable, profound and senseless loss of a quintessential diplomat. I cherish the stories about this “unsung hero” who loved being with the people on the ground, listening to them, speaking in Arabic and always being the last to speak at meetings. It’s a great loss for the US, for Libya – which he loved – and the world at a critical juncture today.

“Why do they hate us” is what Eltahawy is frequently asked by Egyptians and Americans.

Fareed Zakaria on his TV program Global Public Square last Sunday (9/16/12) framed the out of control street protests on 9/11/12 in a broader quantitative context, reminding viewers that while hundreds were engaged in the violent protests, tens of thousands vigilantly participated by night and day in the Arab revolutions. Libya is not anti-American, though it is easy to paint these demonstrations as an “us against them duel”which exacerbates tensions.Interestingly, there was a consensus among the four commentators on Global Public Square last Sunday which featured Zbigniew Brzezinski, Former National Security Advisor, Paul Wolfowitz, Former World Bank President, Bernard-Henri Levy, Author and Tarik Ramadan, Author and Professor of Islamic Studies. They and Fareed Zakaria all believe that the violence was not spurred by an anti-American fervor but rather by deeper divisive politics between rivaling political factions fighting for dominance. Comments ranged from Wolfowitz saying, “this isn’t the Muslim world against the West” and Levy saying “this is a political fight between Democrats and fanatics”. As a Muslim woman, I appreciated Tarik Ramadan’s comments when he said “This is not Islamic, in fact it is anti-Islamic.”

We can take a page from history and note that the trajectories of Eastern Europe’s revolutions in the 60’s. They highlight how long it can take for political demonstrations to mature into functional democracies – with a protracted one step forward, two step backward dance over several decades and as Brzezinski warned: “Don’t confuse populism with democracy.”

Shahnaz Chinoy Taplin’s blog is inspired by Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad’s first wife. Khadijah is the quintessential role model for Muslim women. She was the first convert to Islam, the first Muslim woman entrepreneur, a globalist and a feminist